Species Accounts October 2006 East Contra Costa County HCPNCCP substrate They may also be active on the surface at night when substrate temperatures remain warm for extended intervals Ecological ID: 114691
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Silvery Legless Lizard ( Species Accounts October 2006 East Contra Costa County HCP/NCCP substrate. They may also be active on the surface at night when substrate temperatures remain warm for extended intervals. Ecological Relationships Known predators of legless lizards include ring neck snakes (), common king snakes (), deer mice (Peromyscus ), long-tailed weasels (Mustela frenata), domestic cats (sylvestris), California thrashers (Toxostomea redivivum), American robins ), and loggerhead shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus) (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Threats The legless lizards specialization for a fohigh sand fraction makes it vulnerable to many types of habitat loss and disturbance. Legless lizards cannot survive in urbanized, agricultural, or other areas where a loose substrate in which to burrow has been removed or altered (e.g., disturbed by blowing or bulldozing) (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Other the species cannot survive in the area any longer. These factors include livestock grazing, off-road vehicles activities, sand mining, beach erosion, excessive recreational use of coastal dunes, and the introduction of exotic plant species, such as ice plants (Carpobrotus edulisMesembryanthemum crystallinum), Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) and eucalyptus trees ( spp.). These factors decrease soil moisture or alter the conformation of the substrate, which may act to limit the food base or make the substrate physically unsuitable for legless lizards (Jennings and Hayes 1994). Pesticides may also threaten legless lizards because of the species insectivorous diet (Honegger 1975). Increasing numbers of feral cats associated with residential areas also threaten extant populations of this species (Miller 1944, Jennings and Hayes 1994). Conservation and Management Detailed studies of legless lizard habitat requirements need to be conducted to determine the distribution and ecological needs of this species more precisely. Silvery Legless Lizard ( Species Accounts October 2006 East Contra Costa County HCP/NCCP Cunningham, J. D. 1959. . Herpetologica 15(1):1920. Goldberg, S. R. and C. M. Miller. 1985. Anniella pulchra pulchra Southwestern Naturalist 30:(4):617619. Gorman, J. 1957. pulchra. Copeia 1957(2):148150. Grinnell, J. and C. L. Camp. 1917. A distributional list of the amphibians and reptiles of California. University of California Publications in Zoology 17(10):127208. Honegger, R. E. 1975. Red data book III. Amphibia/ReptiliaInternational Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Morges, Switzerland. Status sheet for Annilela pulchra nigra, Fischer 1885. Hunt, L. E. 1983. A nomenclatural rearrangement of the genus AnniellaSauria: Anniellidae). Copeia 1983(1):7989. Jennings, M. R. and M. P. Hayes. 1994. Amphibian and reptile species of l report submitted to the California ncho Cordova, CA. Contract 8023. Miller, M. R. 1944. Ecologic relations and adaptations of the limbless lizards of the genus Anniella. Ecological Monographs 14(3):271289. Smith, H. M. 1946. Handbood of Lizards: Lizards of the United States and of . Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca, NY. Stebbins, R. C. 1954. Amphibians and reptiles of western North America.McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, New York. Stebbins, R. C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and AmphibiansSecond edition, revised. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MS.